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Our team supported event at 4 local organisations on topics including: Menopause & Lifestyle Changes, Chronic Kidney Disease & Risk Factors, Diabetes & Lifestyle Changes
2 Request for our involvement or support on wider projects.
2 sessions held on Menopause & Lifestyle Changes
2 sessions held on Chronic Kidney -Disease & Risk Factors
2 sessions held on Diabetes & Lifestyle Changes
Groups Workshop attended by people from different ethnic background
7 first time attendees at activity group
1 Partnership meetings attended/led
1 Local Organisations events attended
What is Menopause?
Menopause is the time that marks the end of your menstrual cycles. It is when your period stops due to hormone levels. It usually affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier. It affects anyone who has periods.
What is Perimenopause?
Perimenopause is when you have symptoms of menopause but your periods have not stopped. Perimenopause ends and you reach menopause when you have not had a period for 12 months.
How is It Diagnosed?
It’s diagnosed after you’ve gone 12 months without a menstrual period. Signs and symptoms of menopause are usually enough to tell most women that they’ve started the menopausal transition. If you have concerns about irregular periods or hot flashes, talk with your doctor. In some cases, further evaluation may be recommended.
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What are the Symptoms of Menopause?
Menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes and irregular periods. These symptoms can start years before your periods stop and carry on afterwards. It can feel different for everyone. You may have a number of symptoms or none. Symptoms usually start months or years before your periods stop. This is called the perimenopause. Menopause and perimenopause symptoms can have a big impact on your life, including relationships and work.
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After menopause, your risk of certain medical conditions increases. Examples include:
Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease:Â When your oestrogen levels decline, your risk of cardiovascular disease increases. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women as well as in men. So it’s important to get regular exercise, eat a healthy diet and maintain a normal weight.
Osteoporosis: This condition causes bones to become brittle and weak, leading to an increased risk of fractures. During the first few years after menopause, you may lose bone density at a rapid rate, increasing your risk of osteoporosis. Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis are especially susceptible to fractures of their spine, hips and wrists.
Urinary incontinence: As the tissues of your vagina and urethra lose elasticity, you may experience frequent, sudden, strong urges to urinate, followed by an involuntary loss of urine (urge incontinence), or the loss of urine with coughing, laughing or lifting (stress incontinence). You may have urinary tract infections more often.
Sexual function: Vaginal dryness from decreased moisture production and loss of elasticity can cause discomfort and slight bleeding during sexual intercourse. Also, decreased sensation may reduce your desire for sexual activity (libido).
Weight gain: Many women gain weight during the menopausal transition and after menopause because metabolism slows. You may need to eat less and exercise more, just to maintain your current weight.
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What is the Treatment for Menopause?
Menopause treatments focus on relieving your signs and symptoms and preventing or managing chronic conditions that may occur with aging.
There are things you can do to help with symptoms. There are also medicines that can replace the missing hormones and help relieve your symptoms.
Lifestyle and Home remedies
Fortunately, many of the signs and symptoms associated with menopause are temporary. Take these steps to help reduce or prevent their effects:
Cool hot flashes: Dress in layers, have a cold glass of water or go somewhere cooler. Try to pinpoint what triggers your hot flashes. For many women, triggers may include hot beverages, caffeine, spicy foods, alcohol, stress, hot weather and even a warm room.
Decrease vaginal discomfort. Try vaginal lubricants or moisturisers from pharmacy. Staying sexually active also helps with vaginal discomfort by increasing blood flow to the vagina. If using condom use water-based lubricants and doctors can prescribe other vaginal treatment (gels, creams, pessaries)
Get enough sleep: Avoid caffeine, which can make it hard to get to sleep, and avoid drinking too much alcohol, which can interrupt sleep. Exercise during the day, although not right before bedtime. If hot flashes disturb your sleep, you may need to find a way to manage them before you can get adequate rest.
Practice relaxation techniques: Techniques such as deep breathing, paced breathing, guided imagery, massage and progressive muscle relaxation may help with menopausal symptoms. You can find a number of books and online offerings that show different relaxation exercises.
Strengthen your pelvic floor: Â Pelvic floor muscle exercises, called Kegel exercises, can improve some forms of urinary incontinence. Strengthening pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises and using a topical vaginal oestrogen may help relieve symptoms of incontinence. Hormone therapy may also be an effective treatment option for menopausal urinary tract and vaginal changes that can result in urinary incontinence.
Eat a balanced diet:Â Include a variety of fruits, vegetables, milk, yoghurt and whole grains. Limit saturated fats, oils and sugars. Ask your doctor if you need calcium or vitamin D supplements to help meet daily requirements. Get some sunlight on your skin for vitamin D.
Don’t smoke: Smoking increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, cancer and a range of other health problems. It may also increase hot flashes and bring on earlier menopause.
Exercise regularly:Â Get regular physical activity like walking, running, dancing or exercise on most days to help protect against heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, weight gain and other conditions associated with aging.
Talking Therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can help with a low mood and feelings of anxiety. It can also help with sleep problems.
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